Time: 3:15 pm

Present Richard Strong, Wayne Beierman, Dennis Easley, Joel Weisberg, Julie Klassen, Norm Vig, Chuk Kittredge, Hannah Chapin, Jamie Long

Secretary: Alyssa Thomas

1) Waterless urinals
Carey Prink made a presentation on his company’s waterless urinals
The waterless urinals can be retrofitted
The cost is the same as a “normal” one
Around 4 gallons of water as used for every flush so the water savings potential would be huge
Every two weeks, “blue seal”, which is biodegradable, is added
Beierman will look over the financial numbers provided and report back at the next meeting
He said the company had not had complaints about the system or damages to
The committee felt it would be good to install these in new buildings such as the art museum, as well as some other public spaces for a first run

2) Recyling Update
In last week’s issue of the Carletonian, the ad by Chapin appeared along with a viewpoint on recycling
The committee members who had seen the ad were all very happy with it
The next step will be to try and get uniform labeling system for all the recycling bins

3) Composting Update
Long reported on the status of trying to get composting in the dining halls
2 (preferred) options at this time: 1) partnership with a local farm (Williams and Bates have this system) or 2) an onsite composting system (like Middlebury)
Strong reported that the cost of the system must be less than what the college pays now in order for the Buildings and Budget committee to consider it
SOPE and facilities will work together to figure out the economics of the options
When this issue was last examined in 1999 (the invessel option), it was too expensive
It was pointed out that because of the LDC the cost of food waste disposal is probably a lot higher now, hopefully making a compost system more financially feasible

4) Tree Free Update
Thomas reported on the status of this campaign
There are currently three types of paper being used: virgin, 30% recycled and eucalyptus (fast growing)
The eucalyptus is currently the default paper for offices, as well as the public copiers
The 100% recycled paper was abandoned because of too many problems with the copier machines
There is currently no price difference in ordering, but since the recycled paper is more expensive, the cost would go up if the use of the recycled paper did
The committee recommended that the 30% be the standard
Thomas will talk with printing & mailing to see if there is an affordable option between 30% and 100%
Weisberg mentioned that he had no idea of what type of paper his department was using and that in many cases, the professors would have a stronger opinion than the administrative assistant
It was suggested that Thomas also send the survey to department chairs and request that they discuss this issue
Weisberg also brought up that there is currently no recycled paper option in the bookstore
Long will have SOPE talk to the bookstore about carrying a recycled option for notebooks, paper, etc…
Any recommendations regarding this will be held off until more information is known
The committee also discussed making the recycled option the only option

5) Campus Purchasing Guidelines
Long had made a handout showing what several other colleges have done for environmental purchasing policies
Long outlined several options for the college
The first option is to join an existing program such as the EPA (schools such as Harvard, Columbia and the University of Minnesota), certification boards (FSC) or buy recycled business alliance
The second option is to create a new college policy
Specific areas of consideration could include electronics, paper, furniture, vehicles, art supplies, building materials, etc….
This policy would commit Carleton to greener purchasing
Questions were raised about the cost of the policy and would the greener products be cost-effective
It seemed that there would be a higher cost for some goods, while some would end up costing less over time
The committee will think about this idea over the next few weeks and continue discussion at the next meeting